Xubuntu 12.04 review - A most pleasant surprise

Xubuntu is a community-developed Xfce-flavored version of Ubuntu. It is supposed to be elegant, lightweight and easy to use. Reading my previousreviews of Xubuntu Karmic and Natty, you will find my experience to differ from the supposed mission statement. In the best case, Xubuntu was adequate but nothing more. Not quite the replacement for Gnome as some would claim.

Precise Pangolin might just change that. We won't know until we test it. But like its fellows Ubuntu and Kubuntu, version 12.04 is a Long-Term Support (LTS) release, so it'd better be good, otherwise, the reputation stain will haunt it for five long years. Or maybe it won't. Today, all shalt be known. Tested, 64-bit edition on my SSD-ed T61 boxie.

Xubuntu launches into a live session that will instantly disappoint you. Slowly, the feeling of subtle meh will fade away, so brace yourselves and hang in there for the first five minutes. Admittedly, the splash screen is nice, with the wallpaper shown instead of a single-color background, allowing for a smooth transition into the session.

The desktop comes with a watercolor-like wallpaper with a dark-gray top panel. An immediate change you will notice is the more KDE-like logo featured, with the little Xfce mouse trapped in a blue circle. Seems like Kubuntu and Xubuntu swapped places.